University of Wisconsin–Madison

Italy: Madeleine Afonso (Food in Bologna)

A plate full of different slices meats and a basket full of cookies with flowers stamped on them.
We were served tigelle with different types of salumi like prosciutto crudo, salami and coppa while on a class trip to an agriturismo (farm stay).

Bologna is a gorgeous medieval city and the capital of Emilia-Romanga, a region known for some of Italy’s most rich and diverse gastronomy. I was welcomed to Bologna by its grand portico-lined sidewalks, teeny-tiny cobblestone streets, and cafè windows on every corner beckoning the city’s world renowned cuisine.

A covered sidewalk with arched, intersecting roofs are next to pillars lining the sidewalks.
Bologna’s characteristic arched porticos that line the sidewalks of its streets.

I’ve come to realize how Bologna and food are practically synonymous – the city takes pride in its specialty dishes (piatti tipici in Italian) like tortellini in brodo (tortellini in broth), tagliatelle al ragù (pasta with bolognese sauce), piadine and tigelle (both types of small sandwiches). I could walk into any restaurant in Bologna and know with confidence I’d be welcomed with a fantastic, satiating meal. Gelato at a cremeria (which I’ve learned is preferred over a gelateria) is a weekly necessity in my life in Italy, and I feel I have already consumed the equivalent of my body weight in stracciatella (chocolate chip) and pistachio. My Italian roommates love to inquire about food in America and are shocked to learn of the portion sizes typical there – a 20 oz venti latte, a double cheeseburger, and Costco as a concept. Everything is smaller in Italy – coffee cups, restaurant portions, groceries, cars, streets, sidewalks.

Besides the best food I have ever eaten in my life, one of my favorite parts of the food culture in Bologna is the aperitivo. After class or work and before dinnertime, the bolognesi (people of Bologna) post up in a small bar or cafè for an Aperol spritz or a glass of wine served with snacks like chips or olives. When I go for a lively aperitivo in Bologna, I’m surrounded by the warm conviviality of Italy and feel like a part of the normal, wonderful everyday life there.

 

 

Madeleine smiles in front of a lake and trees on a sunny day.

Madeleine Afonso

Hometown: Sammamish, Washington

Major: Botany & Journalism

Program: Bologna Consortial Studies Program

I chose BCSP because it was unlike other abroad programs offered in Italy – it enables me to take my studies in Italian over the past two years and apply them through immersion, something that sounds enriching to me and was what I was looking for when searching for programs abroad.